kurt_tank
Responses from kurt_tank
| Preamp Help I've heard the ARC Ref. 1, 2, 3 and now the 5 in my friend's system over the past 10 years or so. The 1 and the 2 were good, but not great. The 3 is a great preamp, IMHO. While the 5 is better than the 3, it is only marginally better, to my ears. ... | |
| TUBE AMP LOVERS - What SS amp makes you smile??? I agree with Grannyring that hybrid amps come the closest to the best (high powered) tube amps I have heard. I use the Lamm M2.1 monoblock amps myself, which are very close sonically to the Lamm M2.2 amps that two of my friends use. (These use jus... | |
| Solid state phono/linestage vs Tubes Hey Handymann,I too run fully balanced cabling, although I actually had AJ Conti, (owner of Basis Audio), terminate my Vector's tonearm cables with XLRs, so I run balanced from my cartridge, to my phono preamplifier, then to my line stage preamp, ... | |
| Solid state phono/linestage vs Tubes Hey Handymann,You might want to try posting your question on Audio Asylum, (in either the preamp/amp asylum or the vinyl asylum). Sometimes you get different, (and/or more), answers there.Good luck! | |
| Solid state phono/linestage vs Tubes Well, if you don't mind a hybrid line stage preamp, (which is dead quiet, btw), I would recommend what I use, which is the VTL TL-6.5 Signature, (with only two 12AU7 tubes.). The phono stage is a battery powered, solid state, ASR Basis Exclusive, ... | |
| Basis Vector cartridge recommendations I use a Basis 2500 with a Vector 3 tonearm, (terminated with XLRs as I run balanced cables into my ASR Basis Exclusive phono preamp). I have been using a Dynavector XV-1S for several years now. (When I starting to wear out my first one, I bought a... | |
| Best High End Audio Manufacturer??? Gotta be Bose, right?!;-)There is no one best, IMHO, so I won't bother giving you just one name.But, if you were to ask who are my top tier manufacturers, I would say, in no particular order:ASRAudio ResearchAvalon AcousticsAyreBasisBrinkmannEggle... | |
| Rockport Altair matching amplifier? My friend uses the Lamm M2.2 monoblocks to drive his Rockport Antares speakers. These are actually 220 wpc hybrid amplifiers, but with only one tube in each amp, (a 6922 tube to be specific). Being a hybrid amp it combined the power of solid state... | |
| favorite phono cartridge The one I have been living with for several years now, the Dynavector XV-1S.(I am on my second one now!)I have heard several top notch cartridges and none of them "float my boat" more than the XV-1S, (although a couple of them did equal it).My two... | |
| ARC Ref3 or McIntosh C2300/2500 The Ref 3 is a great preamp, (and I agree with Minor1 about the Ref 5 & Ref 5SE). However, IMHO, it does not really have that classic tube midrange sound that you said you want. It uses the 6H30P tubes, which are very neutral sounding, and ver... | |
| Advantage of Balanced over RCA for phono cables The signal from a phono cartridge is basically a balanced signal, so going with an all balanced system makes sense. Ralph Karsten, with Atma-Sphere, can probably explain it better than I can. (Ralph designs his preamps primarily to use balanced co... | |
| Avalon Eidolon matching speaker cables and IC My friend used to use the Eidolons for several years. He used mostly Nordost cabling, (Valhalla cables and/or Quattro Fil I.C.'s), and also Jena Labs cables as well. I use the same Nordost cabling with my EgglestonWorks Andra II speakers actually.... | |
| Buying a used cartridge...tell us your tale. Perhaps I have been lucky, but I have bought four out of the six cartridges I've owned, since getting back into vinyl 11 years ago, used, and they have all been in good shape. I've bought from one person on Ebay, one from a guy on Audiogon and the... | |
| Line Preamp Pass XP 20 or VTL 6.5 Signature Well, I don't have any experience with the Pass XP 20, but I did go from another solid state preamp, (the Ayre K-1XE), before going to the (hybrid) VTL TL-6.5 Signature. It is a significant sonic upgrade, albeit not a huge one. (Given the esteem t... | |
| Cartridge Help My friend went from the XV-1S to the Van Den Hul Colibri Gold XGP.He feels it was a significant upgrade.FYI: He uses a Brinkmann Balance turntable and an ARC Ref. 2 SE phono preamp.I bought his XV-1S when he upgraded and loved it so much that when... |